Silver Lake strikes deal to take gambling giant Endeavor Group private
Silver Lake has announced a deal to acquire Endeavor Group Holdings in a historic deal worth a reported $13 billion.
The agreement to take Endeavor private means shareholders will receive $27.50 per share, representing a 55% increase on the closing price of $17.72 back in October 2023, before Silver Lake’s proposition for a full takeover.
On the back of this news, shares were moving at $25.94 in afternoon trading on Tuesday.
Silver Lake is a private equity firm which specialises in technology-related investments and was already the largest shareholder in Endeavor, the holding company for sports entertainment, media and talent management.
In 2022, the company brought the sports betting platform OpenBet into its portfolio and then sold the sports education institution IMG Academy the following year, for an estimated £1. 25 billion.
Endeavor has a majority interest in TKO Group Holdings, the media conglomerate giant created by the merger of WWE and UFC, but TKO will remain a publicly traded company outside of the headline acquisition.
Official reaction to the Silver Lake deal for Endeavor
CEO Ariel Emanuel stated, “Since 2012, Endeavor’s strategic partnership with Silver Lake and Egon Durban have been central to our evolution into the global sports and entertainment leader we are today.”
“We believe this transaction will maximise value for all of Endeavor’s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company.”
Egon Durban, Silver Lake Co-CEO and Managing Partner, who also sits as Chairman of the Board of Endeavor added his satisfaction with the agreement.
“Together, we have built and grown Endeavor from $350m in annual revenue when we first invested in 2012 to nearly $6bn in consolidated revenue today,” he said.
“Consistent with our mission and underscored by this commitment being among the largest in Silver Lake’s history, we are all in on working with the Endeavor team and our trusted anchor investors to create value by accelerating growth at scale.”
The Silver Lake takeover is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter in 2025 after formal permission was granted by Endeavor’s executive committee.
Image credit: Endeavor/X
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